Ordinary is Repentance

" . . . from its first moments, change has been the call to those claiming to be believers.  Sometimes it's called repentance, sometimes conversion, sometimes forgiveness, sometimes surrender.  It goes by lots of names but God's ordinary always means change."

I've written a bunch about repentance.  Mostly because I need as many reasons and methods to accomplish it in my own life as any.  

I also have written about it because so many of us are stuck with one understanding that misses  the rich and complex biblical portrait as it is drawn using those deep and ancient terms of the Hebrew.

Two Hebrew words get translated repent.  The more familiar,  / "shuv" means to "turn around."  This call to repent catches us and expects us to change direction.  It has a singular momentary aspect to it and it also has a continuing and habitual aspect to it.  

The dynamic of that "singular" call is for us to stop those behaviors and practices that grow out of frail, failing, faulty humans.  Just stop!  

Think about all our family and friends in recovery from addiction.  But theyknow and we know in other ways that there is more to it.  That continuing and habitual aspect is exactly what recovery attempts.  

Both as singular moment and a continuing effort this call to repentance comes from God.  It comes from a God who loves us and wants a face-to-face relationship.  The biblical notion with  is that we don't just turn, we return.  

The other Hebrew word we translate repent is   / nacham.  It's what God does when he changes his mind and removes his threat to smite all of Ninevah.  It's what he did when Saul disobeyed. “I repent that I have made Saul king; for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.”  1Sa 15:11 RSV

We could say that God's expectations carry weight.  Sometimes God exerts that weight and other times God changes God's mind and withholds.  It's what Job does at the end of his ordeal.  He changes his mind and is OK with a new understanding that God is God even when bad things happen to good people.  "Therefore I despise myself and repent . . ." Job 42:6 RSV

Either way with  or   what you get is a call to change.   A change in behavior that births and grows a new understanding or a  change in understanding that demonstrates itself in new behavior.   Change is ordinary and so is repentance.